Maybe Next Time
by Cate-Deriana
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia are suddenly trapped inside Aizen's prison. Talking about the 'good old times' some remaining personl secrets are revealed. Time can be tough if you stopped fighting back.


„Did someone see my remote?"

Aizen looked at the two familiar newcomers rather disinterested. Only a second ago he had been watching one of those cheesy animated movies, where the characters tended to jump over blooming fields of flowers singing as if their life depended on it. But now he was faced with his two former favorite subjects. In the end however he had to admit they both had not become what he'd expected them to become – boring.

Courage? Bullshit. Destiny? Bullshit. He just wanted to continue watching his stupid movies, but somehow the remote had gone missing.

Ichigo looked at the former villain equally perplexed and disgusted. Only a second ago he had been sitting in front of the rerun of Orihime's favorite comedy show, which she insisted to watch every Sunday morning although she had already seen the episodes multiple times. He would actually prefer that over this sudden meeting with Aizen. But maybe this was an excuse not to drink one of those creepy strawberry-radish-smoothies.

"What are you planning to do to us?" Rukia's fingers were drumming nervously on the chair she was taped to – just like the neighbor on the seat next to hers. Only a second ago she had been sitting in front of loads of paperwork that had to be finished today. If she could not return to her desk anytime soon, she would have to do another night shift, which would cause Renji to become his overly caring idiot-self again. _'Take a break'_ here, _'You're daughter hasn't seen you in ages.'_ there. Something along the lines of: _'Can I help you?' 'I'll bring you dinner.' 'I'll stay here with you, until you're finished.'_ As a captain of the Gotei 13 you had a lot of work – but why should Renji be able to relate? He was still just… No, don't be spiteful again, she thought to herself. She had to find a way to escape this place, wherever that was.

"I have nothing to do with your presence here. I'm just as clueless as you are."

Aizens voice was calm, but his eyes were meticulously searching for something.

"Oh, sure! So this isn't one of your _'I have planned this all along'-stories?_ " Ichigo remarked cynically. "Since your birth you are an extraordinary being… bla bla bla." He cited the mastermind who was now obviously just a shadow of his former self. "Is this just an illusion? This was what your Zanpakutou could do, right?" he asked provokingly, hoping to get an answer to why the hell he was here. He looked to the side – to her.

"As you may have noticed, Kurosaki Ichigo, my hands are tied to a chair just as yours. But apart from that: Do you see my Zanpakutou anywhere? Or, wait: Do you see anything except us and these chairs?" Aizen was still visibly annoyed by all those accusations. You just once tried to become the ruler of the worlds and what did you get? Nobody trusts you anymore, you've fucked it up.

Ichigo looked around. True, they were surrounded by sheer nothingness. Nothing was there – save this tiny television in front of Aizen. A bad dream, he wondered. No, no wait. One could not possibly make up something like this.

"I don't care in the slightest _what_ this is about, _where_ we are or _who_ taped us to these chairs. I just want to leave – _now._ " Rukia verbally interfered.

"Do you think _I'm_ having fun here?" Ichigo had belligerently thrown his head to the side causing their eyes to meet for the first time in a while. "I expected you to be a little happier to escape your _'beloved'_ Sunday routines." Rukia countered spitefully. "H-how do you know?" He felt caught in the act somehow. "Oh, please, and here I thought _I_ was the one who is self-deceiving. It was _you_ who asked _me_ to hang out so you can flee from your boring family life just for one day." "That's not what it was about." Ichigo turned his head to the other side, sulking.

"Free on Sunday? Wanna do some training together? Or hunt some Hollows? I'm a bit rusty I think." She recited every single word of the respective message.

"Ho? We are this desperate, are we?" Aizen suddenly got attentive and wanted to participate in the debate. It seemed those two former close friends had really grown apart.

"Desperation's got nothing to do with that! By the way: Nobody asked for your advice!" Ichigo snapped back at his Ex-archenemy. Aizen raised his arms defensively – only verbally of course, his arms were still tied to a chair: "Hey, if I could, I would have already switched the channels, but my remote is still missing. So, if we three have to hang out here anyway, we could just have a nice chat until you two have found a way to get out of here."

" _Nice_?" Ichigo repeated skeptically.

" _If_ we find a way." Rukia remarked with a derisive laugh.

"So you both think I like not being able to decide which movies to watch anymore and indulge in your pitiful story of destiny that went down the drain a long time ago, once again?"

"Nothing went down the drain! Everything is fine just like it is." A deep frown crossed her face. If he was really going to address that…

"This is not the way I pictured things to happen. I had a plan and it was going smoothly, until this stupid ancient bearded quincy appeared and left everyone and everything in a complete mess. Just pierce the Soul King to get his powers so I'll be able to see the future and predict every single step in every single universe you might make. Until his appearance I was the one with the coolest ability! Excuse me?! Nobody cares about complete hypnosis anymore!? But you're still good enough to help us so would you please give this shinigami-human-quincy-hybrid a hand so he can rescue us from this madness, because we as the Gotei 13 are not able to do this on our own! If you're asking me, the whole Soul Society is full of little pansies that fear their own zanpakutous and are clinging to their captain's apron strings. Wearing a Shihakushou means _being_ someone – not whimpering your ass of when it is declared: We are at war, wear your swords! I always kept on telling myself: When _I_ become captain I will…"

"Who _cares!?_ "

Ichigo was breathing heavily, furious. This had to end! Somehow he was only being confronted with the things he really, _really_ did not want to hear. Maybe these gorgonzola-cronuts with red bean paste filling were indeed the best thing that was ever going to happen to him…

"Oh, I see."

Rukia seemed completely calm and composed out of a sudden.

"So the whole hôgyôku-thing was just kind of foreplay to you, you say?"

She faced Aizen as if she had just posed the most earnest question in the universe.

"Certainly, yes."

He was just as calm and composed as her.

"W-wait a minute." Something was seriously off here. He sensed his eye twitching slightly. If he could find this ominous remote maybe he could switch channels himself…

"Well, I've never told anyone before, but… how do I say…" The former 5th division captain began.

Ichigo cautiously peeked over to Rukia who had caused Aizen's change of heart in the first place: "I'm honestly afraid of what he is going to say now…" She looked to him from the corner of one eye and seemed equally non-eager to learn the answer.

"I am a romantic."

"Alright, it's settled: We're going to die here." He would have knocked his head somewhere if he could. Ichigo felt as if someone had just turned the whole world upside down, completely jumbled up. All of this just seemed to happen because ten years ago he didn't…

"You really did not change at all, Kurosaki Ichigo."

Aizens voice caused a shiver to run down Ichigo's spine.

"What I especially like about you is that you remained to be so innocent." He sighed. "I really don't know what to do with you two anymore. During these seventeen months you didn't see each other I was always watching over you, rooting for you. I am your biggest supporter, you know." He paused, looking thoughtfully. "Well, after Shiba Isshin of course."

"Something is definitely rotten in this declaration."

Rukia became suspicious. Maybe this indeed was just a dream or had its source in one of Aizens favorite movies.

"So what you want to tell us is that _you_ were the one who was responsible for our first meeting that summer night and that _you_ were the one who caused the whole Hôgyôku-story and probably as well planned this whole seventeen month separation-suffering just to bring us back together after that because: Absence makes the heart grow fonder – or something like that. You… you couldn't possibly have planned this all on your own."

She felt insecure, manipulated, seen through, but tried to uphold her self-confident Kuchiki façade just enough so that Aizen wouldn't notice.

"I bet Urahara-san assisted you all this time. I always thought it was strange that this guy seemed completely prepared for every possible outcome and was always there to help you before you even knew you needed him." Slowly, but finally the penny dropped as realization hit Ichigo as well. Although everything sounded crazy and far-fetched – some things really seemed to make a lot more sense with this explanation. What it still didn't explain was the reason they were here. The last penny dropped as well.

"Wait! So you were playing matchmaker this whole time?!" A feeling of consternation floated through the empty room – the empty dimension – the empty prison? Ah, whatever!

Aizen simply nodded stirring up the former substitute Shinigami even more. He seemed to be his old short-tempered self. Rukia felt a certain nostalgia and sighed apathetically. How did this happen? In the past it had never mattered that they were from completely different worlds, but now… since the war they had been drifting away from each other, separated by those two worlds…

"Why did you stop _doing_ that?!" Ichigo continued to bark at the former captain.

Why he stopped? Did he really say that? She looked over to him, biting her lower lip. This was going in the wrong direction. She didn't want to think about what the subtext his question indicated…

"Why I _stopped_ , you ask?" Aizen laughed. He just laughed, honestly amused. It was terrifying somehow. "Well, at some point it would have been up to you to act on your own, Kurosaki Ichigo. This had not been within my powers anymore. Mmh… well I could have done something, but it wouldn't have been right to manipulate you and talk you into feelings you do not have. Even someone like me has values and lines I won't cross. You should have acted… ten years ago."

Was he being serious?! Ten years ago?! He didn't like the way Aizen had put emphasize on these last words. That was deliberate provocation – and it worked, that was what maddened him the most. He tried to break away from this stupid rickety chair but it was no use. God, damn it! "Aizen, I'll _kill_ you! I swear! I WILL! KILL! YOU!"

"Humans can be so entertaining. You're really easy to tease." Aizens remark did not contribute to Ichigo's mood but the ex-captain seemed to finally enjoy what was happening.

"As… as if I would listen to someone like you! What do you even _know_ about me?! What did I even do to you, that you…!?"

"Ichigo." Rukia's voice was barely audible in the big room.

He had just started to fall into his rage, it was impossible to get his attention just like that.

"…that you think you can just plan my whole life!? And now you are sitting here in front of me and tell me everything is _my_ fault?! It is _my_ fault that your plan went downhill?!"

"No. Of course not, it's _Juhabach's_ fault that everything went downhill. Or should I say down- _stream_? Because this is what _'bach'_ means in German. Get it?"

"Oh, so you think this is _funny?!"_

"Ichigo?" Rukia tried again, this time a little louder.

"This is just a cheap joke for you, right?! Be honest, you like watching others suffering! You like watching what I became, right?!"

"Indeed. It was very satisfying to watch your pain but to be honest: Since you stopped fighting back destiny it became considerably boring." Aizen yawned demonstratively.

"You think I stopped fighting back?" Ichigo paused, a melancholy sigh escaped him. "You know what? You're right! But you don't have the slightest idea how it feels when there is nothing that is worth fighting back for anymore and what it means if…!"

"Ichigo, that's enough!"

Her voice echoed through the endlessness of the room. For one moment you could only hear her heavy breathing. Her lips were trembling as she tried with all her might not to burst into tears, to control herself. " Please stop." It was just a whisper.

She turned her head to face him. Her expression nearly broke him. He could see everything in her gaze, read her, just he used to years ago. He saw what he already knew, what he had always thought he knew and what her eyes were confirming now unmistakably. He saw what had always remained unspoken all this time. Fuck. Was this part of Aizens plan as well? He turned to look at the former mastermind ready to verbally get to his throat once again.

"If you try to put all the blame on _him_ again, I will break away from this chair and pierce your chest with my zanpakutou – and _this_ time it won't be to give you any shinigami powers, if you know what I mean."

Her threats tended to sound a little more venomous but the desperate, heavy-hearted undertone in her voice wasn't making it less believable. It had been a long time he last heard her say something like that – too long ago. They had barely seen each other in the last ten years. He could count their meetings with the fingers of one hand. Since their last reunion when they had watched Chad's match together and celebrated her promotion they had at least exchanged numbers. From time to time they had sent each other small, insignificant messages. After the long time without keeping in touch at all, it had become their means of conversation:

* * *

These comedy shows are _really_ not interesting.

Then think about something else you two could do.

I can't. I can't tell her, her shows are stupid.

Right, addressing matters is not one of your strengths.

I think you're running out of masculinity. Better drop by the convenience store!

Shut up…

* * *

Hueco Mundo could be nice, it's vast,

less populated and most important: quiet.

There are thousands of destinations more suitable to go on a vacation…

Like for example?

Hokkaido maybe? They have loads of snow there in the winter.

Snow? Sounds great.

Wanna come with me?

What?

Just joking.

* * *

I need your advice.

What's wrong?

Ishida is in town and Orihime asks if it's ok to meet him for lunch.

What do I say? _Is_ it ok?

When _I_ invite someone for lunch I usually don't have any ulterior motives.

So I can tell her to go?

You have a problem with that?

Not really…

* * *

To be or not to be, that is the question.

Quoting Shakespeare again?

You've read it?

I said I would, didn't I?

And?

It's quite good.

Quite good?

I like the imagery.

But I don't really get why someone like you is into this romantic stuff…

Hey, he wrote a lot of histories as well you know.

Strange.

What?

I can't find any bend corners in those plays.

…

* * *

Hey, can't sleep.

Well, as I am awake now…

Sorry…

What's up?

…

Spill it.

You know if I would encounter like, say a Menos Grande…

I'd have a problem.

So what?

Free on Sunday? Wanna do some training together?

Or hunt some Hollows? I'm a bit rusty I think.

Are you asking me to meet you?

Yeah. Kinda.

Is that a yes?

I can't.

Next time? Maybe?

Yeah, next time. Maybe.

* * *

"I'm sorry."

He looked to the floor, concerned. His sudden change of mind made her a little insecure.

"You're sorry?" She asked disbelievingly. "You've never said that to me before." Every last remnant of the anger that had been in the air only a few seconds ago was gone. She had no idea what lead him to say something like that.

"Then… I guess that wasn't necessary until now." He mumbled to himself, but still loud enough for her to hear.

 _"Until now?_ Then you have probably forgotten about the last ten year, I guess."

It wasn't a blame, he could hear that in her voice. It was the affirmation for what he had done or more likely for what he hadn't done.

He sighed: "If I were you I would hate me."

She let out an equally long sigh: "Sometimes I wished I could."

The sound of someone clearing his throat broke this meaningful moment: "How about talking a little more about the good old times _together?"_

Two pairs of eyes met Aizen, similarly pissed.

"Well my childhood's hero was…" Feeling neglected the former captain was trying another topic.

"And my favorite words are: _Shut up **!**_ **"** Ichigo interrupted the man.

"If we're at it…" Rukia added "Fairytales should always have a happy ending right? But we _are_ not part of one of those fairytales, so continue watching your stupid movies in which they lead us to believe that everything is going happily and that everyone is getting the perfect ending." She kicked the long lost remote she had found under her chair over to Aizen.

Aizen looked at his supposed rescue that was now lying at his feet.

"I can't reach it." He remarked dryly.

A single raindrop landed on his nose.

He frowned. They were in a prison, a prison that was completely artificially built. What was going on here? It really started raining. What the…? Oh.

He shot a venomous look at Ichigo: "Would you stop that, Kurosaki Ichigo! Keep yourself together!" This couldn't seriously be happening now. Where this young man went he always had to bring his burden with him and just toss it away in the most unfavorable moment possible. He clenched his fist, a deep groan escaping his throat. Now he was getting drenched in this cell as well.

The orange head, who was the obvious cause of Aizen's misery seemed as confused as the ex-captain at first: "That's… not my fault! I'm not doing this…"

Rukia just shook her head: "The rain is like a past lover you just can't get rid of right?" She looked up: "And it seems _she_ cannot forget you as well."

He also looked up at the rain. The single drops landed smoothly on his skin making their way down his face. He had always regarded the rain as a pain but right in this moment it gave away a nice feeling. 'Like a past lover?' He repeated her sentence internally. Wait. What?

He turned round to her.

"Rukia?"

She turned her gaze away from the rain and looked at him just the way she had used to at a time when everything had still been possible.

"Orihime is not the love of my life."

He felt relieved, as if every single lie he had told himself those past years had lost its effect and power and as if from now on he could be a little more of himself again.

She examined his face closely. She had always known that, of course, but it was relieving to see a long lost part of Ichigo coming to life again. However, she knew that was not what was really on his mind.

" _You_ are."

That was it. Better late than never – that's what you said, right? A small smile formed on her lips.

"Thank you." She whispered merely audible.

And with that everything had been said. There were no secrets anymore, no repression, just the certainty that it would never be more than that. There were things you could not undo, the time you could not turn back and feelings you could not change. And for the moment that was alright, that was what they would tell each other when they met. Maybe next time, they would say.

Maybe.


End file.
